Sanjeevi Sivasankar Named Chair of Biomedical Engineering

Professor Sanjeevi Sivasankar has been named chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Davis, effective August 1. He succeeds Edward Teller Distinguished Professor Steven C. George. 

“I am honored and excited to serve as chair,” Sivasankar said. “I want to thank my predecessor, Steven George, for his dedicated work in strengthening the department and positioning it for continued success.”  

As chair, Sivasankar wants to build on the department’s distinctive strengths, bolster its research and clinical partnerships, and expand its profile at Aggie Square, the UC Davis innovation district in Sacramento.  

“Our department is entering a defining period, and I look forward to working in close partnership with our faculty, staff, students, trainees and the College of Engineering to advance fundamental biomedical discovery, engineering innovation and translational research.”  

By fostering a unified, collaborative culture, he said, the department can become a more visible leader in biomedical engineering research and education that advances human health and serves society. 

Sivasankar investigates how cells stick together to form tissue. He is an expert in the biophysics of cell-cell adhesion and is recognized for establishing the molecular links between adhesive protein structure and function. He and his lab have developed new methods for measuring this biomechanical process to understand how wounds heal and how cancer metastasizes.  

His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and the March of Dimes Foundation. He serves on multiple scientific panels and in several leadership positions in professional societies. 

Sivasankar joined the college in 2018 as an associate professor of biomedical engineering following 10 years as a faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Iowa State University. He completed his Ph.D. in biophysics at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and conducted his postdoctoral training at Stanford University and UC Berkeley.